favorite: warrior 1 and 2, modified tree (I can do it with foot to ankle), bridge pose, bound ankle, pigeon

not so fave: downward dog used as a resting point (ouch!), triangle (If I look up, I fall out and get dizzy for some reason), seated forward bends (my calves and backs of thighs do not like stretching)...

I actually find Child's Pose really hard because I can't touch my forehead to the floor, it's a really deep stretch for me, I just try to relax and hope that one day I get there. I love Camel. Anything that involves stretching the hamstrings will be hard for me, doesn't necessarily mean I don't like them, just that I can't go very far and they are the most challenging.

I love it all! I really love deep back stretches like full forward bend, up and down dog, upward and downward bow, plough, shoulder stand, etc. And I love balancing with half moon and proud warrior. I can't yet do a headstand, though.

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 5:36 pmPosts: 1693Location: the land of too much wine and wind

Love: handstands (against a wall), headstands of all sorts, wheel, shoulder stand (especially in lotus). Apparently, I like being upside down. Also, crow (it took me forever to get right), triangle, and anything super twisty where you end up looking like a pretzel.

I don't love: warrior 3 or most other one-legged standing poses (aside from eagle and tree). My balance is less than stellar. And I'm not a fan of splits.

If you guys don't like child's pose you should try old dog, it's the same thing except you sit on your heels and put your toes flat on the ground. We always do that one in class because if you aren't super flexible you can get a better stretch and you get a nice foot stretch too.

My least favorite is anything where I have to support my upper body because I can't do it due to my bum shoulder. So down dog, table, wheel etc are all out.

I think my favorite is tree. I also love doing restorative backbends on blocks because it makes my shoulder feel so much better.

I really love down dog and standing forward bend. Wheel makes me feel magical and euphoric on the days when I'm feeling strong enough to do it. I also like pigeon, and am digging tree at the moment. Triangle is good, too, as well as cow face pose - that really helps my back. Any of the twisty back ones are fun. I'm slowly getting into turtle, too, although I find it hard.

The two I really struggle with are plough and shoulderstand. I did plough today for the first time in ages, and it was heaps easier than it used to be - hooray! - so maybe I'm getting somewhere with it. Shoulderstand is no fun for me cos my core muscles are crepe. I'm doing lots of plank (also not heaps of fun, but I prefer it to shoulderstand) to help with that a bit, but really I should just do shoulderstand more often.

_________________If I chew on garlic that's been in a vagina, isn't that exploiting SOMEONE? - coldandsleepyAfter all, you can't spell Richard Dawkins without "dickwad". - EmperorTomatoKetchup

My absolute favorite is triangle pose. So many good stretches, I love the way it looks, and I'm good at it. I also like downward dog and a bunch of others whose names I can't remember. I took classes for a while, but haven't in a while, so I just do the poses I remember and like in a sequence that seems right. I need to look into taking classes again or looking up new poses, I think.

I'm another who can't do child's pose. And I didn't understand the modified one that Lazy Smurf described. I can sit on my feet or put my head on the ground, but not both at the same time. How do you stretch for this? What am I even stretching? I'm pretty flexible...

One more question, for those of you who practice on your own, not in a class, how long do you hold your poses for? I do 30 seconds (probably longer, 1 mississipi, 2mississipi), which I think is great for improving flexibility, but seems a little long maybe for some poses.

I practice on my own. For me, I hold poses between 5-10 breaths (inhale+complete exhale = 1 breath)... I don't know, I just figured that my breathing was a good measure, since I try to keep my breath steady throughout the yoga session.

I practice on my own. For me, I hold poses between 5-10 breaths (inhale+complete exhale = 1 breath)... I don't know, I just figured that my breathing was a good measure, since I try to keep my breath steady throughout the yoga session.

I usually measure my poses in terms of breaths as well, rather than in terms of seconds. 5 breaths is usually good for most poses.

I practice on my own. For me, I hold poses between 5-10 breaths (inhale+complete exhale = 1 breath)... I don't know, I just figured that my breathing was a good measure, since I try to keep my breath steady throughout the yoga session.

I usually measure my poses in terms of breaths as well, rather than in terms of seconds. 5 breaths is usually good for most poses.

Well, that's how the Wii Fit seems to measure. And that's how I track the time if I do a pose or two in the kitchen, say (Warrior 2, or Chair, maybe), while waiting for water to boil or the toaster oven to ding. Usually by the third in and out breath I am just settling into the pose, though.

Favorite Pose(s): Warrior 2. I like downward facing dog since I learned how to do it right.

I practice on my own. For me, I hold poses between 5-10 breaths (inhale+complete exhale = 1 breath)... I don't know, I just figured that my breathing was a good measure, since I try to keep my breath steady throughout the yoga session.

I usually measure my poses in terms of breaths as well, rather than in terms of seconds. 5 breaths is usually good for most poses.

Well, that's how the Wii Fit seems to measure. And that's how I track the time if I do a pose or two in the kitchen, say (Warrior 2, or Chair, maybe), while waiting for water to boil or the toaster oven to ding. Usually by the third in and out breath I am just settling into the pose, though.

Favorite Pose(s): Warrior 2. I like downward facing dog since I learned how to do it right.

I think number of breaths is the standard way to measure. At least that's how I was originally taught to measure my practice by my astanga-style teachers when I first started out with yoga.